It's time to turn data into opportunities

In the third sector, we all compete for the attention of donors - whether it's for a specific cause, a target audience, or an organization. In this context, there has never been a greater need to manage the multitude of processes handled by fundraising teams. As a fundraiser, my dream - and probably yours too - has always been to find a tool that centralizes and organizes all these demands.

We need to deal with periodic fundraising targets, multiple team members simultaneously engaging with individual and corporate donors, as well as managing prospect data, donor information, and opportunities. We must also handle contracts, counter-gifts, payments, campaigns, project deliveries, internal and external reports, and ensure compliance with the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law). This list of responsibilities seems never-ending. And then there are the technological limitations that most organizations face, such as inflexible systems, isolated spreadsheets from other departments, and multiple Excel files. Often, these files may even duplicate work that a colleague has already done and stored in a folder on the drive without your knowledge.

Throughout my experience in different organizations, I have had the opportunity to explore various tools, and the main challenge is to have a centralized system that can significantly simplify and automate all these processes. CRM is a powerful and extremely useful tool for efficiently managing donor relationships, ensuring their satisfaction with the impact generated by their donations, and potentially increasing the value of their contributions. Additionally, utilizing a CRM can contribute to your organization being recommended to other potential donors, further expanding the reach and influence of the cause you advocate for.

CRM: Your organization in one place.

CRM tools play a crucial role in the growth of third-sector organizations, encompassing areas such as marketing, resource mobilization, and program management. The use of customizable platforms allows each organization to adapt the CRM to its specific needs. For example, a small organization that fundraises from companies and has a volunteer program can use CRM to manage accounts, contacts, donations, events, and volunteers. This centralization of information and processes facilitates data analysis, performance monitoring, and informed decision-making, contributing to the organization's growth and positive impact.

In Brazil, many organizations that excel in fundraising from individuals - such as Greenpeace, ActionAid, Amnesty International, and UNHCR - have CRM tools as their main pillar. Without them, numerous actions, from donor acquisition to relationship building, updates, and reactivation, would be practically unfeasible.

CRM in the routine of fundraisers

With the aid of robust CRM tools, fundraising teams can start their day with relevant alerts and insights about their donors, active opportunities, and real-time data for the period, including progress towards fundraising goals. All donor information is tracked in one place, from basic contact details and relationships to engagement levels and donation history.

With these insights, it is possible to enhance the fundraising strategy, cultivation, and donor retention, starting from the moment they click the "Donate now" button on the website to processing payments. If desired, the system can create personalized engagement plans for each donor, with categories such as (I) Silver, (II) Gold, (III) Diamond, and automatically generate activities to deliver corresponding counter-gifts, depending on the donation amount.

The platform can be integrated with payment processors, communication channels such as email, SMS, telemarketing agencies, and mobile apps for face-to-face fundraising. One of the most relevant functionalities of good CRMs is the generation of reports and dashboards, easily created in a user-friendly interface. These dashboards allow for real-time measurement and sharing of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as conversion rate, average donation value, percentage of goal achieved, donor acquisition cost, retention rate, and return on investment (ROI).

Customizing the system

Can you imagine a large organization without a system that would manage all this? What would happen toits millions of donos and all the lead data? There are several CRM options in the market, and regardless of the chosen tool, customization to your organization's specific requirements is essential.

I have seen cases where organizations have implemented these tools solely on internal resources. It is certainly possible, as there is a lot of material available online, often provided by the platforms themselves. However, the recommended path is to seek an implementation partner to customize the system according to your organization's specific processes and requirements.

One of the most robust CRM platforms adapted to the third sector that I know of is Salesforce. In Brazil, there are several companies that implement this system. One of them is @vera-solutions, highly recommended by me. They are specialists in the social sector, have a global presence, have been Salesforce partners for over 10 years, and have completed more than 400 projects for social impact organizations of various sizes. Their office in Brazil has been operating since 2018. I have had the opportunity to work with Vera Solutions on several projects, such as the implementation of the system for ActionAid Brazil in 2018-2019, and currently, I am involved in the redesign of the system for Amnesty International Brazil, aiming at enhancing processes. In both projects, we also benefited from the integration provided by @trackmob for the use of their solutions, such as donation pages, face-to-face fundraising, and payment processing, all in perfect harmony and functionality.

With all these solutions integrated into a CRM like Salesforce, Trackmob offers a complete environment to strengthen fundraising strategies at every touchpoint between donors and the organization. With donations and interactions managed in one place, detailed reports can be accessed, providing a comprehensive view of the organization's performance and enabling strategic decision-making based on concrete data.

The system configuration for an organization typically occurs in two stages: (I) Discovery and Solution Design, which can take 2 to 3 months, and (II) Implementation, which usually takes 4 to 6 months, depending on the system's complexity. During this process, it is important that the organization allocate a few hours of their team´s weekly journey to ensure that the system satisfactorily understands all the workflows they wish to optimize. With these steps completed, the system will be ready for use and will bring significant benefits to the organization. Et voilà!

In summary, the use of a CRM can be a powerful tool to help third-sector organizations efficiently manage their fundraising processes, enhance the impact of their actions, and strengthen donor relationships. Personalizing and adapting the tool to the organization's specific needs is key to maximizing its benefits. While there are several CRM options available in the market, Salesforce is one of the most robust and widely used, especially when combined with complementary solutions like Trackmob. Remember, it's time to turn data into opportunities!

About Eduardo Massa

Eduardo Massa is the Director of Strategy at Trackmob and leads an important Data Insights project at Amnesty International Brazil in collaboration with Vera Solutions. He has been working with CRM since 2002 and has taken extension courses in Digital Marketing, Design Thinking, and Innovation. He was responsible for the DBM (Database Marketing) and Competitive Intelligence areas in the private sector. He has experience in customer acquisition through different channels and in customer retention and loyalty programs. He has been working in the Third Sector for 12 years, focusing on donor acquisition, development, and retention. Notable achievements include the modernization of Greenpeace Brazil's Face-to-Face program, the implementation of individual fundraising at Habitat Brazil, the development of new fundraising processes and channels at UNHCR, and the reformulation of fundraising systems and practices at Amnesty International Brazil. He has also worked internationally at UNICEF Portugal.